The Transfer Tavern

Forget Vardy: Everton must seek to land his £16.2m-rated Leicester teammate instead

Everton supporters have been in fine voice in the Transfer Tavern this week after seeing their team get back to winning ways in the Premier League last time out courtesy of a 2-0 success over in-form Brighton at Goodison Park.

Sam Allardyce’s men went into their clash with the Seagulls off the back of consecutive away defeats at the hands of Watford and Burnley, results which brought the prospect of relegation back into play. Yet the Toffees all but banished any lingering fears of the drop on Saturday as a Gaeten Bong own goal alongside Cenk Tosun’s first at Goodison Park sealed all three points for Allardyce’s side, thus moving them into the top half of the Premier League table and ten points clear of danger.

As such, there have been many upbeat Evertonians in the Tavern in the last few days, several of whom are hoping that their side can translate their fine home form into their travels, starting with their trip to Stoke City on Saturday.

In the meantime though, there has been plenty for our resident Toffees fans to discuss, not least recent reports linking them with a move for Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy in the summer.

And while there is little doubting that the England international would be a great addition to Allardyce’s squad, the Merseysiders must forget about a move for the forward, and instead target a move for his £16.2 million-rated teammate Wilfred Ndidi (as per Transfermarkt).

Ultimately, while the attacking ranks haven’t fired on all cylinders this season, it is defensively in which Everton have been hopeless this term, having conceded 49 goals in their 30 Premier League matches – only four teams have shipped more.

And while some of that can be pinned down to the performances of the backline itself, questions have also been asked of those just in front of them, with Morgan Schneiderlin in particular coming in for criticism from several Everton supporters.

Idrissa Gueye continues to impress in that area and is comfortably the number one central midfielder at the club, but for Allardyce to persevere with a two just in front of the back four, he needs someone better and more reliable than Schneiderlin has been in recent times – Wayne Rooney has even featured there lately, but his talents could and should be used further forward.

And that is where Ndidi comes in.

Not only is the Leicester midfielder at the tender age of 21, and thus landing him would be the nod to the future that Everton need given the aging status of their squad, but the Nigeria international has proven his capabilities in his 12 months in the Premier League, having missed just one of their 48 league games since his arrival in January 2017.

And with decent showings in their Champions League knockout stage clashes this time last year, the 21-year-old clearly has the ability to go right to the top – one does not get linked with Barcelona if one is not destined for greatness.

And with those links very much apparent, Everton must act fast in the summer, and as such they have to forget about a move for Vardy and instead focus their efforts on luring Ndidi to Goodison Park.